


tell me who the fool is now (she's gold)

by LavenderMandarin



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Marriage Proposal, based on this one website i saw comparing gold and fool's gold, really it's just something i came up with at 4 am
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:14:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28375224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LavenderMandarin/pseuds/LavenderMandarin
Summary: A series of memories Lena experiences that highlight the differences between Kara and Lex.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 6
Kudos: 49





	tell me who the fool is now (she's gold)

The candlelight is soft and hazy, but that might just be the wine. The gentle breeze flows around her, and she shivers a little where she stands. The stars are out, sparkling in the sky, but Lena only has eyes for what’s in front of her.

Lena stares down at the golden band nestled in the velvet ring box, a hand held up to her mouth as tears stream down her face. Kara is down on one knee, holding the box open and looking at her with all the softness in the world.

“Lena Luthor, will you marry me?”

.

.

.

Lex had always been the favorite. The golden boy.

Lillian loved Lex the most. Ever since Lena joined the Luthors, even when Lex had decided to act almost like a parental figure for her, sneaking out to her, helping her, teaching her, Lillian had hated her.

It got worse after Lionel passed away.

From the very first day, Lena had realized that Lillian did not love and would never love her.

From the very first day, Lena had realized that Lex was the only person who cared about her.

* * *

Lena hadn’t known when Lex had turned.

She hadn’t seen the signs, hadn’t read enough into them, had simply brushed them off.

The snappish attitude he had more and more often, the obsessive way in which he worked on his own projects, barring other people out and snapping at Lena whenever she came in.

Lena didn’t read into it.

From a very young age, she had learned that the Luthors had short tempers and would never be satisfied with what she did. It just seemed like that part of Lex was finally shining through.

* * *

Every time Lena even so much as brought up Clark Kent, a friend of Lex’s who used to come over and bring her out for ice cream around the corner, Lex would yell at her or fold into himself, ignoring Lena.

Lena learned not to bring him up anymore.

* * *

Lena remembers the first time she brought up Lex and Clark and her past with Kara up.

She had immediately shut her mouth, locking her jaw and bracing for impact. Instead of getting a faceful of anger, Kara had simply sighed.

Then, they’d talked. They’d talked about everything. Kara told her stories, memories of her past; she had told Lena that she was the first person to hear most of these stories. When Lena had asked why, Kara had said that she was scared she would forget the memories once she gave them away to someone else, so she’d kept them to herself. When Lena had then asked why she’d told _her_ of all people, Kara had simply smiled at Lena and tilted her head.

“You’re different… special.”

Kara had then shaken her head and looked down.

“I don’t know exactly. There’s just… something about you.”

Kara had looked up then, studying Lena as if she could find the answers on her face.

“You’re not like them.”

Lena hadn’t pried further into the topic. Instead, they had put on a movie, and just like that, the moment had passed and things were back to normal again.

* * *

Lena had always felt like a part of Lex was with her, _in_ her, just waiting to be let out so she could become the Luthor so many had feared she would be.

Everything Lex had ever said to her, his criticisms that he called _observations_ and the little pointers here and there _lift your chin up higher, sit straight, we are Luthors, Lena, we cannot be weak,_ had made her less sure of herself over the years.

They wore down on her every day. Sometimes, when it got to be too much, she’d go to bed with red eyes as she clutched an empty bottle of scotch to her chest.

* * *

It had been a horrible week when Lena first started as CEO of L-Corp in National City.

Every night, she had compared herself to Lex, and she had to restock her scotch supply every other week with how fast she was going through it.

Then, she’d watched Clark Kent walk in the door, prepared for another horrible day, only to see a woman following him.

She introduced herself as Kara Danvers, blue eyes shining with unspeakable depths and hair that shined like gold.

She was enamored for the rest of the interview and faintly picked up on Kara telling Clark how she believed Lena.

Lena had smiled a secret smile. She didn’t drink any scotch that day.

* * *

Lex had left an even deeper impression on her later.

Lena had watched him drop from the sky, and she’d grimaced.

Lex would never give up that easily.

So, she’d followed the trail he’d set for her, shot him twice in the chest, and watched as he ripped her world apart.

She’d gone back to J’onn’s apartment later that evening, bringing bottles of wine with her.

She spent the night cradled with a bottle of scotch for the first time in three years.

* * *

She lived through an entire year without Kara and _with_ Lex’s constant criticisms.

Every night was spent sipping scotch straight from the bottle or working in the lab she’d set up for herself, poring over Non Nocere with a glass of scotch nearby.

* * *

Lex _shined_ onstage, flaunting his power and charisma and winning over everyone. No wonder he was a hero in this world.

In the back of her mind, Lena thinks about how Supergirl never had to flaunt her power, how her genuine smiles and out-of-this-world happiness was enough for anyone. How Kara didn’t need to be standing in the spotlight to shine, to glow.

When she’d finally realized Lex’s plan, she’d struck back with her words, and gotten a faceful of anger.

She had immediately remembered the broken look on Kara’s face when she’d blown up at her in the fortress, and she had winced a little, imagining Kara in her place.

Later that same day, after she had picked herself up and scraped together enough bravery, she had gone to Kara’s apartment and knocked on the heavy door.

Kara, happy, cheerful Kara, had opened her door and immediately moved back, crossing her arms over her chest and pulling herself in.

No hugs, no smiles, no nothing. Just sad eyes and blank acknowledgment.

Lena had resolved then and there, standing in the doorway, that she would make things right, that she would bring back the Kara she knew and loved.

Kara had opened the door wider and Lena had stepped into her apartment.

.

.

.

Lena is brought back out of her memories when she hears Kara’s voice, soft, gentle, and concerned.

Kara is still kneeling in front of her, a little crinkle next to her eyebrow.

“Lena? Are you okay?”

Kara reaches up with the hand that’s on the lid and slips it into Lena’s free hand, crinkle ever-present as she begins smoothing her thumb over the back of Lena’s hand.

Lena smiles and smiles and _smiles,_ and the yeses start tumbling out.

**Author's Note:**

> honestly i can't even comprehend half the things i wrote in this one but i really really wanted to post it so i just went with it haha
> 
> i hope it's at least some what okay lol because i'm working through a to-do list of fics and i actually have 3 pretty long ones planned after i finish the one after this one. so i have this one and then i have another that's canon-adjacent but quickly becomes not so canon-adjacent. then i have what i want sc to look like in s6. then a crosscountry train au a few people may know about. and then finally a werewolf au thanks to a random generator i found. that one's gonna be the longest so it's set for the last but i have the plot outlined.


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